Story by Todd Goade
Family has always been a huge foundation for me, and having the best mom and dad anyone could ever ask for growing up is a blessing I cherish every day. I am also fortunate to still have them both as Dad celebrated his 83rd birthday in June and Mom’s 83rd is in December. They have been married for an incredible 61 years and hope that they enjoy many, many more.
My Dad had me in the outdoors at an early age, catching my first bass at 7 years old. He took me to a farm pond and that five pound bass bit a topwater lure about 10 feet in front of me. I still remember that bite! It wasn’t long after that we would go white bass fishing when they would run up the James River in Missouri to spawn. My summers were spent in Salem, Missouri at my grandparents’ home, wading the Merrimac River catching smallmouth, goggle-eye, and sunfish.
Dad also started me hunting at an early age, and I was probably one of the first people in Missouri to sit through the five-hour hunter safety course to attain my certification card. This allowed me to hunt bigger game and to also hunt in other states.
He bought me a single shot 12-gauge and I broke it in shooting at doves and quail. That thing kicked like a mule and was heavy! It earned the nickname “Gas Pipe” and many cases of shells were shot through that thing.
I made my first pheasant hunting trip to Kansas when I was 11 years old. Dad told me that if my grades were good that I could go, and report cards usually came out the week before we were supposed to leave. I never missed a trip. So many memories were made on those trips, like walking wheat fields that were a mile long, and having rooster pheasants come up right up to your feet.
My dad also instilled values in me that drive me to this day. To name a few:
- If you’re not 15 minutes early, you’re late.
- If you say you’re going to do something, do it.
- Your name and credibility will determine how you will be judged. Always do things the right way.
- Honesty may not make everyone happy, but it always prevails in the end.
- Doing the little things will get you ahead in life.
Even at 83 years young, Dad still fishes in a bass club, regularly placing in the top five and winning one occasionally. He has a 17-foot Triton that he still loads and unloads himself, and he can read his Lowrance HDS units as good as anybody.
I hope when I’m 83, I can still be doing that!
I wrote this column even though we talk on the phone several times each week, to tell Dad just how much he has meant to me in my life and how he has shaped the way that I do things. The values he instilled in me are what drives me to this day, and they give me confidence that the decisions I make are the right ones. He still gives me guidance, and we end each phone call with “I love you.”
Thank you Dad … for every single moment and for everything. I love you.
